What Would I Do Without You?
by LindaValo
Summary: The Joker doesn't know what he's gotten himself into, but neither does she. Villainess at night, respected celebrity during the day. Understanding the inner workings of two unique, and possibly insane, individuals.


My laugh filled the streets as four figures ran away from the burning bank. I had three bags of money in my hands and the rest carried off by my allies. They ran off in different directions, using their own way to get back to our hideout in case we were being followed. I'm part of a group ran by no leader. We all, somehow, just work together well. I smiled to myself, enjoying the fun of breaking the law and beating the cops... again. My smile faded. That's all I did. It was fun at first, but now it's a bit old. After five years, I suppose anyone would get bored too. In those five years, the Batman has caught me quite a few times. Provoking him was more fun than the crime itself, but it seems he's disappeared recently. Another disappointing fact. I looked around, then threw the money bags onto a nearby bench and sat next to them. The tall lamp next to me was broken, allowing darkness to surround me. Where am I anyway? I looked around to find myself at some park. I heard a small rustling movement and quickly pulled out my gun, having it aimed and ready. Looking down I saw Hoot, yes, like the owl. A little black and white cat was looking up at me from the ground. I put my gun away and smiled as I picked up my favourite little pet. He climbed into my lap made himself comfortable.

"How did you escape your cage?" I asked the creature with a laugh. Not even a meow was my response. Hoot is supposed to be locked up at the hideout, but this isn't the first escape he's made. How he finds me is yet another mystery.

My hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and had many different colour hair pieces in it. I had green contacts in so that no one saw my real eyes at night. My makeup was very minimal. I had shiny lip gloss on and some eyeliner. But truth be told I despised make up. I only wore it so it made me look less like Amanda Laneaux and more like Cresent; the mysterious villainess that only terrorizes Gotham at night. Living two lives wasn't a walk in the park. It's nice having a good reputation and connections on the other half of my life. Certainly makes things more interesting. Looking up, I saw a couple stars and no moon. It's always hard to see stars in a city, which is rather depressing. Standing up, causing Hoot to clamber off my lap, I threw the money bags over my shoulder as I headed off towards the hideout where the others were waiting.

I threw my bags onto the pile in the middle of the room. Rene was laying on a beaten up couch, counting a stack of money. She had dark blue jeans on that were torn really bad below the knees, boots that were almost at her knee, and her shirt was just a plain, long sleeved, black shirt with a wide neck. Her glasses rested on her nose, revealing her medium brown eyes. Her hair was short, black, and simple. Rene was one of the best fighters and very flexible.

"Batty wasn't out again tonight," Dirk said throwing five more bags into the pile. Dirk was very tall with short, brown hair. His green eyes could glow in the dark if possible; I bought him contacts so his eyes were now a medium blue, not as noticeable. He had a gash on his cheek that went down to his neck. I never asked where he got that scar, but never really bothered to care. He had on all black and chains, and his eyes were almost black circles due to heavy eyeliner and eye shadow. His appearance choice isn't the best but he was great with any type of gun. He rarely missed his target, but wasn't the best with close combat. He loves to joke around but knows when to get serious. His personality didn't match his appearance at all. Though, the guy is a heart throb without all the chains and makeup. He always talks about how all the girls drool over him during his day life, or he could be just making it all up. Everyone's day life was kept to ourselves and never saw each other during the day, but if we did we would pretend we didn't know each other. Dirk and I have contact in our outside lives, sharing the same childhood. It was foolish to bring him into this group, but he insisted on finding out what I was doing in my spare time. Too many risks, but we're doing well so far.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious," Zane said rolling his eyes. Zane had really bright, light green hair with many piercings on one ear, and only two on the other. He had a hole in his eyebrow, meaning he had a piercing there too but he probably takes it out at night so it won't get in the way. His eyes were a hazel colour and he rarely smiled. He is very sarcastic but knows everything needed to know about any weapon. Knives, guns, bombs, you name it. He also had his resources too.

"It would be nice to see that old bat though," I said collapsing into an armchair near the couch Rene was on. Dirk sat on my lap and threw his arms around my neck, "Hey there... sexy."

"You'd get off of me if you knew what was best for you," I said and pushed him off. He fell to the floor as Zane sat on the couch next to  
Rene.

"I see my baby doesn't love me," Dirk pouted. I rolled my eyes at his playful attitude. I felt something slide down my cheek. I touched it and saw blood on my fingertips. His damned spike bracelet must've hit my face as I pushed him. "I'm going to kill you," I growled getting up. His eyes widened and he quickly got up and ran away. He knew I was only kidding... partially. I don't like seeing my own blood, it made me feel weak. Rene looked up at us through her glasses and laughed as Dirk tried to free from my grasp. He received a punch or two to the gut before I let him fall to the ground. He looked up at me as I looked down at him. We both suddenly started laughing.

"G'night," I said waving goodbye to them a couple hours after our fun. The money was split evenly between all of us. Rene, Dirk, and Zane all waved before taking off in different directions with their collections. They all had cars, or a motorcycle in Dirk's case, parked in hidden areas. Tonight I was feeling like walking, so I hid my stash to take with me next time. There's actually another member of the group, making a total of five, but he didn't show up tonight. His name was Hal. He pretty much just goes with his own flow. Sometimes, I questioned why he worked with us but he would just put a small smirk on his face and ignore my question. He's really irritating but I just let him do what he wants.

I've killed many before, and tortured many without hesitation. I hear on the news a lot about the Joker and I realized how me and him are alike, yet different in so many ways. I see him as competition, though I've never met him in person. Before I left the hideout I got rid of the makeup I wore, changed out of my tight clothes into jeans and a nice tank top, and let my hair out of its ponytail. So now, walking down the busy streets of Gotham was Amanda Laneaux. I smiled as I passed some familiar faces. I passed Bruce Wayne's place with a grimace. I walked about a block down, then took a left and saw my house, if you can call it a house, not too far down the road. Let's say it's just too big for one person. I wish Hoot was able to keep me company but he has to live at the hideout. I looked at my watch and saw it was almost one in the morning. Gotham is just one of those cities that never sleeps. I pulled out my keys and unlocked the door that lead inside my home. The lights flicked on as I closed the door. To my right was a big parlor. There was a long couch in front of a TV and a fireplace on the wall furthest from the TV. There were two window doors that lead to my pool and backyard. The curtains on those doors were shut. I passed the parlor and the kitchen which was on my left and went up the stairs. Closing my bedroom door behind me, my pillow was met with my face and darkness took over.

The doorbell made me sit straight up with surprise. A pounding heart and a headache welcomed me for waking up too fast. I sleepily rubbed one of my eyes as I walked down the stairs to the door. Bruce Wayne was on the other side of the door. If I wasn't Amanda right now, I would've rolled my eyes and shut the door but instead I had to smile and greet him.

"Good morning, Bruce," I said with a yawn.

"Actually, it's the afternoon. Almost two pm," Bruce said with a laugh.

"Oops. Guess I had a little too much fun at the party last night," I lied with a smile. Bruce laughed.

"Want to go grab some ice cream?"

I blinked. We were friends yes, but rarely seen together in public. I just hoped he didn't see it as a date when I said, "Sure, just let me change." I invited him in and walked upstairs alone. I closed my bedroom door slowly, as if pretending I wasn't home. _Ice cream? Seriously? Okay, what the fuck? _I shuddered. I changed out of yesterday's clothes and put on a long white skirt that was layered, and a tan, v-cut shirt that was silky and had short sleeves that stopped at my shoulders. I looked down at myself. _I hate skirts,_ I complained to myself as I brushed my hair. I put my cell phone in my purse and walked downstairs to the person I really just couldn't stand. Living two lives had its ups and downs, and right now this was definitely a down. Forced to be nice to the people you couldn't care less for. Bruce was looking at some pictures of my old friends that lay on a table in the parlor. He turned as I came downstairs.

"You look nice," he said with a smile.

I smiled without a response and opened the door to let him exit first. We walked over to one of his fancy cars and he opened the door for me. I got in and dreaded what was going to happen the rest of the evening.

Bruce Wayne and I laughed as he told one of his life's stories. He had an empty bowl in front of him that used to have a hot fudge sundae, and instead of getting ice cream I got a mango smoothie. It was half way gone.

"That looks good," he said nodding towards my drink.

_Is that a_ _hint?_ I grumbled to my thoughts as I offered him the rest. He smiled and took a sip. I was about to say something but an explosion came from the shop next to us. The force from it caused me to get thrown from my chair onto the floor. Many other people were sent to the floor as well. I looked up to see a couple of men in clown masks exiting the shop next to us. _The Joker?_ I thought to myself as I stood up slowly. I looked around for Bruce and saw he had disappeared. _Great. Where'd he go? _I thought as I looked around. I suddenly felt something sharp and cold on my neck.

"Don't move," a man growled into my ear.

I felt myself get dragged outside and thrown to the ground with a couple other hostages. My hands were tied as well as my feet. A guy with the clown mask, the one who grabbed me, tied an explosive to my leg before leaving to grab more people. _I'm usually the one having fun and tying people up._ I groaned. I tried to wriggle my hands out of the rope but it was tied tight. I looked around and saw more people in clown masks dragging civilians to where the rest of the hostages, including myself, were.

"Why aren't you a pretty one," came the unmistakable voice of the Joker. Even if I never met him before, the videos on the news of him made  
him hard to not notice. I looked up at the Joker frightened, which made him laugh hysterically. Apparently my fake expression failed me.

"What are you doing out, all by yourself," the Joker asked with an odd emphasis on the last part of his question. His carved cheeks were slightly  
visible under his painted red smile, and his green hair was greasy and unkempt, and his dark eyes were bearing right into mine. I didn't answer his rhetorical question.

"Aren't you... what's her name? Amanda Laneaux, right?" the Joker said putting the tip of his knife under my chin.

"And if I am," I said as I tried to move my head back but couldn't because I was against the wall. The Joker let out a laugh, "Want to know what's funny?"

I looked at him, waiting for the answer.

"I believe Amanda has brown eyes."


End file.
